SS4 Masters of Fate Part 2
by Denise Felt
Summary: Can Straker's wife change time and make it so that the commander doesn't die at the hands of the aliens?


**4. Masters of Fate - Part 2**

**(A UFO Story)**

by Denise Felt 2010

**_Men at some time are masters of their fates_. – Julius Caesar, Act 1 Scene 2**

**Chapter 1**

Chandra slowly came back to consciousness, aware of pain in various areas. The side of her face burned, and the inside of her cheek was tender to the gentle probing of her tongue. And there seemed to be a hole bored through her midsection. She felt hollowed out, as if the very core of her being were missing. It was weird.

After long moments trying to clear her thoughts, she realized that her lungs hurt. She was taking short breaths and feeling slightly lightheaded, almost as if she wasn't getting enough oxygen. What was going on?

She had a strong sense of danger nearby, so she laid very still and tried to tell what was happening by sense alone. Once she got past her own aches and pain, she realized that she was laying on an uneven surface. She cautiously flexed her fingers and felt stickiness where her hand was. It affected her viscerally, that stickiness, and made the part of her that seemed to be missing throb with pain.

Everything was quiet around her, so she carefully opened her eyes to slits and looked at her hand. It lay on a broad dark patch that was almost brown in the dim lighting of her surroundings. But the patch wasn't so broad that she couldn't see the fabric surrounding the stain. It was cream silk. _Like Ed's suit jacket._

Everything came back to her on a rush, and she had to forcibly swallow the moan that came from deep within her. She closed her eyes tightly and fought to contain the grief and anguish that wanted to overwhelm her. She had to keep a clear head. She had to _fix_ this. She had no idea how, but that wasn't important now. Now she just had to get a grip on the hell that she had awakened to. Or she'd never get the chance to change it.

After several minutes spent in gathering the pieces of her shattered heart and mind, she was able to open her eyes slightly once more. She didn't look down. She didn't need to see him lying beneath her again, or she'd have to start all over pulling herself together. She could just make out between her lashes the console of an alien ship. The pilot stood at the controls, adjusting something that required him to constantly check the small screen in front of him. By his slight build and red spacesuit, she knew that he was a Thoelian.

Her teeth clenched involuntarily with rage, and she was forced to calm herself again so that her mouth would stop hurting from the sudden pressure. She took a few shallow breaths, trying to keep her wits about her. She'd be no help to herself or anyone else if she reacted with the wild anger that wanted to engulf her. She had to _think_.

There'd been two of them, she remembered. And she was only seeing one. She couldn't make any move without first knowing where the other one was. She closed her slitted eyes and drew herself in, reaching out with all her senses to see if she could sense him.

After a few moments, she felt the body beneath her vibrate softly, and she realized that one of the Thoelians was moving around the ship. Coming closer too, by the strength of the vibrations. She nearly opened her eyes in shock when the weight at her side was suddenly removed and her body shifted position. But she caught herself and laid very still. She heard an odd dragging sound that conjured up nightmare images in her mind, so she slitted her eyes once more to see what was happening.

And saw the boots of a SHADO operative being dragged across the threshold of an adjoining room in the wake of the man's body. A dark blood trail marked the progress of the corpse as it was so carelessly hauled out of the room. She wanted to vomit suddenly, realizing that her husband was not the only body with her on the floor of the craft. She was laying on a pile of dead bodies. _Not important! _she told herself quickly as her flesh began to crawl with horror. _Stick to what's important!_

Okay. Focus. One Thoelian at the ship's controls. The other in the adjoining room. Good. Separated, they were easy prey. Well, _easy_ being a somewhat relative term. She could see enough of the small viewscreen on the console to know that the ship was in space, probably headed for Thoel with its spoils of war. And jumping was not an exercise that anyone would recommend for someone inside a spacecraft this size. Too little maneuvering space. Too much margin for error. She really didn't want to end up _outside_ the spaceship after a jump.

She closed her eyes and considered. Did she have a choice? Not really. Could she do this? She measured the distance from where she lay to where the Thoelian stood at the ship's console. Then she sank deep within herself, shutting out everything but the feel of time flowing through her at a molecular level. Yes, there it was. The dark waters of the never-ending stream. She laid down in that stream, letting the soft waves wash over her body, letting the precision of the time and space she inhabited become a part of her essence.

When the stream was all she could feel, was all that she knew, she jumped.

And barely touched the Thoelian's shoulder before jumping back to her original position.

She ended up crouched against the bulkhead, the pile of bodies just in front of her. She closed her eyes, shutting out the image of her husband's broken body among them. She wouldn't think about that now. She couldn't. Or she'd sink into an abyss from which she would not return.

She took as deep a breath as she was able in the oxygen-starved atmosphere of the ship. Okay. One down, one to go. She crawled stealthily to the doorway of the other room and peeked around the edge. The second Thoelian stood at a metal table where the SHADO operative had been placed. The alien was swiftly and efficiently cutting something out of the body, and Chandra had to close her eyes and lean back against the wall before she gave in to the nausea that threatened.

Focus. _Focus_. She didn't risk a second look, but drew up the distance to the alien in her mind. She sank deep once more, immersing herself in the flow of time and space, the exactness of location and destination. And jumped.

She had misjudged the distance, and he sensed her presence before she was able to reach him. He turned swiftly, his bloody scalpel swiping in an arc around him. She ducked under it, throwing her arms around his legs. And jumped one last time.

She ended up in a heap on the floor of the main room, staring into her husband's dead eyes. She choked, her grief pouring through her suddenly in a rushing tide that overwhelmed her. She drew his broken body onto her lap, lifted her tear-stained face to the ceiling, and wailed.

***

"I didn't want it this way," he said for the fourth time.

Alec looked over at him, noting his distress. Not because his commander was dead, he thought. But because he hadn't gotten his promotion in a fair fight.

Freeman shrugged, leaning back in the command chair. "It doesn't matter what any of us wanted, Paul. We have to deal with what _is_."

"Are you sure –?" Foster began.

The colonel was getting tired of trying to convince him that Straker really was gone. "You'd better hope so. For all our sakes."

Paul looked surprised at that comment, meeting his eyes with a question in his own.

Alec sighed heavily. He'd aged greatly in the past twenty-four hours, and his face was scored deeply with lines of pain and grief. "If any of us see Straker again, we'll wish we hadn't."

"What do you mean?" Paul asked, honestly bewildered.

"Remember Craig Collins?" Alec said harshly.

Foster lost color at that, and seemed for the first time to realize what they were dealing with where their commander was concerned. It wasn't enough that he was undoubtedly dead. Or that the aliens had probably taken whatever knowledge he had in his mind to use against the organization he had given his life to build and maintain. No, the final insult would be if he walked back in that door, a zombie bent on destroying them all.

His hands shook as he fingered the new wallet he held in his hands. The wallet that read: _Commander Paul J. Foster, SHADO HQ. _

***

After a long time, Chandra became aware of her surroundings once more. She felt numb all over, inside and out. Which was a blessing really, because it meant that she could no longer feel the enormous black hole that sat where her heart used to be. She knew it was there, but thankfully she no longer felt its churning presence. She looked down, running a fond hand over his blonde hair to smooth it. She gently closed his beautiful blue eyes and bent to kiss him on his lips.

Then she laid him tenderly on the floor and stood up. She swayed with fatigue and much more, but managed to weave her way over to the ship's console. After a frustrating few minutes trying to decipher the Thoelian symbols on the instrumentation, she finally found the dial she wanted and adjusted it.

Within minutes, the air in the ship was clearer, and her breathing eased. She looked at the viewscreen. The ship was definitely on a heading for Thoel, but she had no intention of going there. She needed to get back to Earth. Only there could she change what had happened. Only there could she alter the fate they were presently experiencing. What were her options?

She could always turn around and head back to Earth, but somehow she doubted that she'd be able to get past the interceptors. They'd be even more determined now to stop any UFO from getting to Earth. And she simply didn't know enough about the craft's maneuverability to try such a suicidal mission.

So where else was there?

***

"You're asking too much!" he stormed.

The general watched him pace the floor of his IAC office as if he were a caged animal. "You know he's not ready for command, Colonel," he said reasonably. "He's going to need someone to guide him, to be there to keep him from doing something foolhardy before he has the chance to grow into his position."

"I'm not a damned babysitter!" Freeman growled. "I just want out!"

Henderson sighed. "We need you, Colonel. The next few weeks will be the deciding factor. If we survive the next month, maybe we can think about giving you a lighter schedule. But it's unthinkable right now, when we have no idea what will be coming at us."

Alec didn't pretend to misunderstand. "I can't deal with that," he said brokenly. "More than anything else, I can't handle the thought of seeing him under their power. Not Ed."

The general rubbed his hands over his eyes, brushing away the tears that threatened. "I know, Colonel," he said quietly. "But if not you, who? Will Foster stand up to him? Can he do what needs to be done?"

Freeman suddenly sank onto the couch near the window. "No. Paul doesn't have it in him to stop Ed."

"I thought not."

Alec looked at him fiercely. "But neither do I, Henderson! I can't do it! It's too much! Damn it! He was my friend!"

Henderson leaned forward earnestly. "That's why it has to be you, Colonel! Don't you see that? Only you knew Straker well enough to be certain what he would want you to do in this situation. Only you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you'd be honoring him the most by killing what is left of him. There isn't anyone else."

The colonel looked at him, seeing in the general's weary eyes the same anguish that he carried for his lost commander. And it broke him. He covered his face with his hands and sobbed.

***

She shrieked with laughter, tossing the pillow at him to keep him from catching her as she rolled to the other side of the bed.

Straker dodged the pillow, tackling her before she managed to get off the bed. He rolled with her, laughing as hard as she was. He pinned her, then just rested his forehead against hers as he fought to get his breath back.

Then he grinned at her. "Checkmate, " he said and leaned down to prove it with a kiss.

The proximity alarm went off, alerting her that the ship was approaching the planet, and startling her awake from the dream. She closed her eyes in anguish, wanting nothing more than to retreat back into dreams – with Ed. But no, she had to do more than that. She had to fix it. She had to make all this go away. Not just until she woke, but for good.

Chandra stood up, going over to the console and checking the viewscreen. Okay. They were in sight of the planetary defense grid. She'd thought it all out, and there was only one hassle-free way of handling this. Border Patrol would allow the Thoelian craft to land at a designated landing port, but it would instantly be boarded and searched and all occupants detained until interrogated. She didn't want to deal with any of that bureaucratic mess. So, she would simply have the craft explode on its way to the landing port. No questions, no hassle. And she'd be close enough to the planet to jump elsewhere before it exploded.

But she didn't want these brave SHADO operatives to go out like that – in an explosion like the one at the facility. They deserved more. She went over to the pile of bodies, separating them from each other. There were three men, besides Ed. She removed their ID's from their pockets and checked their names. Hansen, Rocheski, and Dundee. She folded Hansen's arms across his chest, keeping her hand there as she closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, she was almost in the same place, although Hansen's body was gone. She went to Rocheski and folded his arms across his thick chest. He wore a narrow gold ring on the third finger of his left hand, just as Ed did. And she laid her hand over it in a silent promise to his wife to bring him back to her. She bowed her head and closed her eyes.

She was across the room when she opened her eyes again. _Focus, Chandra_, she scolded herself. _Focus_. She walked back to where Dundee lay and folded his arms as well. He was quite skinny, and she found herself looking at him more closely. He looked so young, she thought sadly. Far too young to have died this way. She closed her eyes, shutting that young face out of her sight. And focused.

She gently brushed the hair away from her husband's brow as she sat next to him on the floor. After folding his arms, she leaned down and gently touched her lips to his. "Thus with a kiss, I die," she murmured softly, her eyes swimming with unshed tears. She laid her head on his bloody chest, closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling, and jumped.

**Chapter 2**

Chandra walked up the hill. The _losies_ were in bloom, waving delicately as she passed. She'd grown used to Earth's flowers now, so the sight of these sweet denizens of her homeworld were a surprise. She drank in their perfume, allowing the softly scented breeze to flow through her, giving her the illusion of peace.

The plan had worked. So far. The ship was gone, exploding in a fitting end to the hideous nightmare, and there had been no annoying questions by the Border Patrol. From the Thoelian craft, she had jumped here, to this time. To this place. She knew a deep urgency to get on with things, to get to the Library and so back to Earth. But her heart ached unbearably, and she needed that most rare and difficult commodity – _time_.

So she'd come here.

As she crested the brow of the hill, she saw the house. Silhouetted gracefully against the backdrop of the blue sky, her family home waited to welcome her. Tears ran freely from her eyes as she quickened her pace. Almost there.

She saw the woman on the veranda as she got closer, her cheerful caftan billowing softly with the breeze as she lounged in one of the chairs there. Chandra smiled, a lump rising to her throat as she lifted her hand to wave. The woman in the lounge chair lifted her hand in return. Her dark violet eyes searched Chandra's face as she came up to the veranda, and a welcoming smile lit her countenance when recognition hit.

"Chandra!"

"Mother!" Chandra wanted to go to her, bury her face against her, and sob. But she knew she looked a wreck. Indeed, her mother's eyes were wide as she took in her daughter's blood-soaked appearance.

"Is any of that yours?" she asked, in the way of mothers throughout the galaxy.

Chandra shook her head. "Most of it belongs to my . . ." Her throat closed up, and she couldn't continue. Her hand moved jerkily, indicating her distress.

Her mother came to her rescue, saying calmly, "Well, then. Why don't you go get a shower and clean up. Once you feel more yourself, we can talk."

***

When Chandra returned to the veranda, wearing one of her mother's caftans, Rosetta handed her a cup of tea.

"Thanks," Chandra said, accepting the cup and sitting down in a nearby chair. She drank deeply of the sweet tea, grateful for its warmth as it coursed through her body. She hadn't realized how cold she'd been inside. She drained the cup, then set it on the small table. She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes, letting the peace of her surroundings comfort her.

After a while, she opened her eyes and looked at her mother. Rosetta was watching her, patiently waiting for her daughter to explain the reason for this visit. Chandra grinned involuntarily. It was just so good to see her!

"Hi, Mom."

Rosetta grinned back, looking very much like her daughter in that moment. "I guess I'm surprised to see you, _caria_. You're so much older than the last time you visited."

Chandra remembered the summer after her mother had died. She had spent nearly every day visiting her. At first, she had tried to get her mother to change her mind and not go on that final jump, the one that had exposed her to the radiation poisoning their best doctors could not cure her from. But eventually, she had just come to chat, playing games with her mother the way they often had in days past. Gathering memories that she hadn't had the chance to collect before.

"I'm married now, Mother," Chandra said.

Rosetta smiled. "I hoped you would come tell me when you found a husband. What is he like? Would I approve of him?"

Chandra smiled. "Of, yes. He's very much like Daddy. Only more so." Then she looked at her mother earnestly. "Don't tell Dad I said that."

Rosetta chuckled. "Of course not, dear. He wouldn't understand. But I do. What does he look like, this giant of a man who exceeds the glory of your father?"

"He's . . ." She suddenly remembered him as she'd last seen him, his beautiful body broken and bloody, his eyes closed forever in death. A great sob rose up in her throat, and she threw herself at her mother's feet, grief overwhelming her once more.

Rosetta set her own tea aside and gently stroked her daughter's hair as she cried.

Eventually she quieted. She pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, then looked at her mother. "Sorry," she said.

"Don't apologize, _caria_," her mother said. "It's his blood, isn't it, that you had all over your dress?"

Chandra nodded. "I have to change it, Mother. I can't live with this timeframe -- this fate."

Rosetta frowned. "Is it in your power to change it, Chandra? Does the choice rest with you?" She too remembered her daughter's youthful visits. It had taken a long time for Chandra to understand that some things simply could not be fixed.

"I think it can be changed. I know he'll listen to me. He trusts me to help him. You see, his world depends on him to keep it safe. Without him . . . I shudder to think what might happen."

"Then he's not from Chronos?" her mother asked.

"No."

"What world is he from, _caria_? Have I heard of it?"

"He's from Earth."

"Earth?" her mother asked. "Oh, Chandra! You are your father's daughter. Why would you go there?"

Chandra grinned at her mother's exasperated tone. "I like it there."

Rosetta shook her head, the beaded cap she wore to cover the baldness caused by her illness catching the sunlight as she moved. "So does your father. Are they so interesting, these Earth people?"

She thought about it. "Well, they're really just like anybody, Mother. Except . . . there are a few of them that really shine, brighter than anything I've ever seen."

"And is your husband one of those who shine?" Rosetta asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes." Chandra's smile was warm as she thought about how brightly her wonderful husband shone among the assorted other pebbles in his world. "Brighter than a diamond."

"A what?"

She looked at her mother. "Oh. Sorry. Like a _berlya_ stone. Earth has diamonds. See?" And she held up her hand, so that her mother could see her wedding ring.

"Very pretty," her mother said. "So tell me about the wedding. Did you wear something special?"

Chandra laughed shakily, relaxing as she returned to the lounge chair. "Oh, Mom! The dress was amazing!" And she told her all about it.

She was describing to her mother how Ed had looked at her as she walked down the aisle when she finally recognized something. "That's the cap I made for you, isn't it?"

Her mother touched the multi-colored beaded cap that she wore, smiling softly. "Yes. Just a few weeks ago, actually."

Chandra grinned, remembering when she had presented the gift to her mother. Rosetta had immediately put it on and worn it the entire afternoon of her visit. They had both known, although no words were spoken, that it signaled Chandra's acceptance of her mother's fate.

"I did a good job," she said now as she looked at it.

"You certainly did," her mother said. "It's the loveliest cap I've ever owned. It must have taken you days to complete the beadwork."

Chandra shrugged. Time didn't matter when it was a labor of love.

"What do you do to keep busy on Earth, _caria_?" her mother asked.

"I am a famous Shakespearean actress, Mother," Chandra said proudly.

At that, Rosetta threw back her head and laughed. She calmed after a while and sat, shaking her head at her daughter. "You and your father!" she said. "He has his little stories on that world too?"

"Oh, yes. He's quite admired there. His plays are known all over the planet. And there are all kinds of legends about him."

"I'm sure there are, that rascal!" Rosetta said fondly. "What does he think of your husband?"

Chandra smiled. "He likes him. They actually have a lot in common. Ed's not a writer, but he is a film producer. That's what they call someone who makes movies in their world."

"And what does your husband think of your father?" Rosetta asked with an ironic lift to her brow.

Her daughter chuckled. "He's a little in awe of him, I think, although he doesn't show it. Ed's used to being around famous people, so nothing really unnerves him."

"That's fine, Chandra. But does he _like_ him?"

"Um, yeah. With reservations."

That sent her mother off into fits of laughter again.

Later, she noticed that her mother was looking tired. Under the cheerful cap, her face was beginning to show signs of strain. So Chandra said, "I should go, Mom, and let you rest. Thanks for visiting with me. It was so good to see you again."

Her mother hugged her, saying, "You'll come visit again soon?"

"I . . ." Chandra had no idea how to explain how impossible that might be, since she had no intention of telling her mother the fate of their world. "I'll try, Mom."

"Good enough," Rosetta replied calmly. "Is your husband truly as wonderful as you say, _caria_?"

"More," her daughter said without hesitation. "There are no words."

"Then don't let anything stop you from being with him. Break every rule, if necessary."

Chandra gave her mother a level look, one jumper to another. "I intend to."

***

She went up to the holographic directory as soon as she entered the massive doors of the enormous underground Library.

"Xanos, where is Head Librarian Shakespeare?"

The holographic image shifted into a smile upon being addressed. "Welcome, Chandra Shakespeare! What do you think of my new attire?"

She grinned. The computer had some interesting personality traits, one of them a desire to be a fashionista. Today he wore an iridescent drape that wound around his androgynous form sinuously, beginning at the crown of his head and ending at his feet. It left several areas of his form uncovered, a daring look that no normal person would try to emulate. But on him it worked.

"Love it, Xanos! Very dramatic."

He tittered. "Thank you, Chandra. Your father is in his office on Level 4."

"Thanks," she said and headed down the hall.

***

She found her father deep in discussion with another librarian. Shakespeare lounged in his chair behind his disordered desk, barely visible around the stacks of papers and files. He evidently was worked up about something, because his arms gesticulated wildly as he spoke, trying to make his point.

His companion, a serious man of untold years, stood and let the Head Librarian's exuberance wash over him without venturing a comment. He looked over when he noticed Chandra in the doorway, and he gave her a small nod, but did not otherwise acknowledge her presence.

At his nod, Shakespeare turned in his chair, catching sight of his daughter in the doorway. He leapt up and cried, "Chandra! My pet! How are you?"

He grabbed her hands and stood grinning at her, his keen eyes taking in every detail of her appearance: from her being clothed in one of his deceased wife's caftans to the deep pain that lurked at the back of her eyes. He frowned suddenly. "Or shouldn't I ask?"

She smiled sadly, squeezing his hands before letting them go. "I'm fine, Dad."

He turned to the other librarian and said, "That's all for today, Salieri. We'll discuss this more tomorrow."

The only sign that the librarian was displeased was the slight compression of his lips. He gave them both a brief nod and left the room.

Once he was gone, Shakespeare closed the door and turned to his daughter. "What is it, Chandra? What has happened? How did you get here? What took you to see your mother?"

She sighed. She could always trust her father to see to the heart of things. Ed was like that too. It was rather nice being around someone who didn't require you to explain everything to them.

She sank into a chair in front of his desk and said, "It's Ed, Daddy. They killed him. The Thoelians killed him."

He stared at her in shock for a long moment, then he took her hand and said, "Can you change it?"

There was a lump in her throat, but she swallowed and spoke around it. "I'm going to try."

"How can I help?"

She closed her eyes. Her father was a very great man. She had never doubted it; but at this moment, it was quite clear why.

"I need to get to Earth. Once there, I can go back to a time before the explosion and warn him of it. Maybe we can keep all of this from happening."

He nodded, then grinned roguishly. "Very well. That section of the Library shouldn't be busy at this time of the day. Hopefully no one will notice that you don't have a pass."

**Chapter 3**

"I don't know, Chandra," he said. "Mackie's background isn't exactly free of trouble. I'm not sure you're going to want to give him a position with that much authority."

"But he's an excellent designer, Alec!" She thought for a moment. "Okay. What kind of trouble has he been in? Major stuff or fairly minor?"

The colonel sighed. "He would never have been hired here if he'd been into major stuff."

"Good," she said. "Minor stuff in his past doesn't worry me. Why don't we put him in the position for a probationary term – say three months – and see how he handles it?"

"Chandra," he said in exasperation.

She grinned. "He's good, Alec. I think he's worth the promotion. And I think he'll prove it to you, if he's given the chance."

"Fine," he said, giving in. He knew she would keep bugging him until she eventually got her way. She had a determination streak a mile wide.

"Thanks," she said, her eyes twinkling. She looked up as the door to her small office opened, and the laughter immediately left her face. She stood up behind her desk, staring at the woman who had just entered.

Alec looked over – and froze in shock. "_What the –?_"

Another Chandra stood just inside the office door, leaning against it to close it, her sad eyes on her counterpart behind the desk.

Chandra read the pain in those violet eyes and wanted to deny everything they were telling her. Ed. It had to do with Ed. And she didn't want to know. _Oh, God! She really didn't! _Still, she forced herself to speak.

"What do you need me to do?"

The other Chandra approached the desk and held out her hand. "Change it. You _must_ change it."

Chandra looked at the hand for a long moment, then nodded. "I will," she promised. And touched the other Chandra's hand. Instantly, the other Chandra disappeared as if she had never been. And Chandra whitened and gasped, nearly falling back into her chair.

Alec reached for her, saying, "What just happened here?"

She tried several times to explain, but kept getting overwhelmed as the memories flooded through her mind. _Ed, hitting the windshield in the explosion. Ed, dying in her arms. Ed, dead on the floor of a Thoelian spacecraft. Ed. Oh, God! Ed!_

She moaned once, then laid her head on her arms and wept.

The colonel patted her shoulder consolingly. He didn't need to be told to realize that whatever the hell had just happened here had to do with Straker. And it wasn't good. But he was a patient man, and he could wait until she was coherent enough to tell him.

After a long while, she raised her head and looked at him, her violet eyes devastated in her white face. She wiped at her streaming eyes with an impatient hand until he gave her his handkerchief. She dried her eyes and blew her nose, then handed the handkerchief back to him.

He took it gingerly and stuck it in his pocket. "What is it, Chandra?" he asked her. "What's going on? And how could there be two of you?"

She sighed, leaning back in her chair as if incredibly weary. "Reintegration, Alec."

He shook his head in bewilderment. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Every great once in a while, a jumper will meet themself. Either by accident, or as in this case, by design."

"Yeah. I've heard all those time paradox theories from Ed over the years. Did she poof out of existence?"

Chandra shook her head. "It's called reintegration. Where the jumper recombines with themself, bringing the memories and experiences of one into the other."

He was starting to understand what she was saying, and he was certain he didn't like any of it. "And whatever she experienced made her come here to tell you to change it?"

"Yes."

"Chandra," he said after a moment when she didn't say anything else. "What happened?"

She met his eyes, the pain in hers nearly overwhelming. "They did it, Alec. They killed him."

"No!" he blurted, unable to accept such a scenario.

She nodded sadly, in complete agreement with him. "I have to stop it. Somehow."

"Can you?" he asked eagerly, suddenly understanding just why Ed had been so excited to have her on staff.

"Let me think," she said. "I have to get it all clear in my head. Right now it's just a jumble of images and feelings. I need to think."

"Do you want me to go?" he asked.

"No," she said. "Just give me a minute or two."

She closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair, looking older than she had when he'd entered her office earlier. _Was that an effect of the reintegration? _he wondered. _Or just a reaction to learning about Ed's death?_

She was quiet for a long time, and he began to wonder if she had fallen asleep when she finally opened her eyes and looked at him. She sat forward and ran a hand over her face. Then she said, "I think I know what to do."

She got up and came around the desk, heading for the door. "Where's Ed right now, Alec? In his studio office? Or HQ?"

"I think he's in HQ."

"Okay," she said.

He got up and followed her out of the office. "Do you need me to go with you, Chandra?"

She laid a hand on his arm in gratitude. "No, Alec. He'll listen to me. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"If you need my help to convince him, just yell," he said.

***

Straker looked up as his wife entered his HQ office. His welcoming smile turned into a frown as he met her eyes. He had never seen that look in his wife's eyes before.

"Chandra?" he said softly. "What is it? What has happened?"

She rushed into his arms, hugging him tightly. "Hold me. Just hold me."

He held her close, resting his cheek against the top of her head. He could feel her trembling, but he said nothing. Just held her until it passed.

After a few minutes, she loosened her hold on him and gave a deep sigh. "Thank you," she said in a subdued voice.

He led her to a chair, then leaned on the conference table nearby and said, "Will you tell me what happened?"

She looked at him, staring into his blue eyes as if by doing so, she could wipe out the memory of seeing them without that brilliance shining through them, without his essential sweetness – without life.

The intensity of her silence worried him greatly. "Chandra?"

She swallowed and said, "Have you heard from the Sydney facility today?"

He blinked. Whatever he'd been expecting her to say, it wasn't that. "Yes. Not even an hour ago. Kelly has found something in the components of the device that he thinks might unlock their technology for us. This could make all the difference, Chandra."

She nodded absently. "Are you planning to go there?"

"Of course. This is far too important a development to do otherwise. You're not worried, are you? I'll be fine."

"Yes, Ed. I am worried," she said softly. "And you won't be fine. If you go there tomorrow, you'll die. Along with everyone else at that facility."

He leaned forward, lifting her chin to make her meet his eyes. He didn't know what he'd expected to see there – worry, concern, even fear. But what he saw was an almost overwhelming grief. It shocked him to his core. So much so that his hand fell away from her face. "Chandra!"

She looked at him sadly. "Will you go, Ed? Knowing you'll die?"

He ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to ask her if she was certain of her facts, but he only had to look at her face to know the answer to that one. But it made no sense.

"Why would they attack tomorrow? They've been on Earth over a week. They could have gone for the facility at any time."

"But _you_ will be there tomorrow."

He shook his head. Not denying her conclusions. But denying that this could be about him.

She leaned forward, laying a hand that trembled slightly on top of his. "They waited, Ed. They waited until you were in the parking lot, on your way into the building, before they struck. Any earlier, and you wouldn't have even been there. Any later, and you would have been blown apart in the explosion. Their timing was exact, Ed. They were waiting for _you_."

The horror of what she was describing wanted to overwhelm him, but he shut it down, locking it away to deal with at another time. He had to think this through and find a way to deal with it. After a moment, he nodded. "Alright. They want the device destroyed, so that it can't give us an edge on them. But they want me out of the picture, as well. Eventually, we were bound to find out something about the device that I would want to check out personally. So they baited the trap, knowing that sooner or later, I'd step into it. But that would take time – time they don't have. Their ships can't last very long in our atmosphere, Chandra."

"They can if they remain underwater."

"Hmmm. And the ocean's right there." He thought about it for a moment. "Alright. But if I don't go tomorrow, they probably won't blow up the facility. If they're waiting for me. And that doesn't help us, because we need to find them. And we certainly won't if we go hunting for them. There's just too much ocean to try to cover. We need to draw them out into the open. And they won't come out from where they're hiding unless I step into the trap."

Her heart sank when she realized where he was going with this line of reasoning. She suddenly remembered all the futile arguments she had given her mother all those years ago. All the tears; all the pleadings. And she remembered vividly the feeling of utter futility when you tried to make someone's choices for them. Even if those choices would save their life. "You're going to go then, aren't you?" she asked dully.

He heard the grief in her voice and reached for her, bringing her into his arms. He held her tightly for a long moment, then drew back to frame her face with his hands. "Will you trust me, Chandra?" he asked softly.

She searched his brilliant blue eyes, then said huskily, "Yes, Ed." What else was there, after all? In the end, he had to make his own decisions.

He kissed her. "Thank you."

***

The bronze Aston Martin DBS pulled into the parking lot of the Sydney research facility and parked near the front entrance. He got out of the car, reached in to grab his briefcase, then closed the door and headed into the building.

Suddenly, a UFO appeared over the tops of the nearby trees. But before it could fire on the facility, a missile connected with its outer hull, and the ship exploded into a thousand pieces.

He smiled as he watched the explosion, then turned as another car pulled into the lot and parked beside him. Straker got out and came over, shaking his hand and saying, "Not bad, Paul. A little more work, and you could be me."

Col. Foster pulled the blonde wig off his head and ran a hand through his hair, grinning at his commander. "I'm counting on it, sir."

**Chapter 4**

"So Captain Carlin destroyed the ship?" she asked.

"Yes. Although Waterman seemed a little put out. I think he wanted to be the one to get it."

"How many Sky jets did you have patrolling over Sydney, Ed?"

He flashed her a cocky grin as he drove. "All of them, of course. I wasn't taking any chances." Just as he hadn't taken any chances with his wife. He had left her at the hotel until the crisis had passed.

She grinned. "And Paul didn't mind being your stunt double?"

Straker shook his head ruefully. "He was actually excited about it. Can you imagine that? He was determined to be in on the action." He shrugged. "I wasn't about to tell him no."

She was silent for a while, then she said softly, "Thank you for listening to me."

He looked over at her. "Why wouldn't I? I'm not in any hurry to die, Chandra."

"I know. But it's nice all the same."

"I'm still wondering what exactly happened. You wouldn't have made a jump without at least telling me about it, would you? And Alec keeps muttering about two Chandras and making no sense at all. So I'm a little confused. Will I get a full report from you?"

She thought about it for a while. Long enough for him to glance at her with a raised brow. "Chandra?"

She sighed. "No, Ed. It's not an experience I am eager to relive. Besides, in this reality, it didn't even happen."

"Will you be alright?" he asked her. He was quite aware that she hadn't slept at all last night.

"Of course, Ed. I'll be fine."

"You sound very sure of yourself."

"Well, I am," she said with a slight smile. "I have you."

He lifted her hand to his lips. "I have you too. And I'm not giving you up."

When he pulled into the parking lot of the facility, she went a little pale. But there really was nothing to be afraid of anymore. So she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly when he opened her car door for her. And if she held his hand a little tighter than usual as they entered the building, he didn't comment on it.

***

Straker had wondered what to do about explaining Chandra's technical knowledge to Major Kelly and his team, since she was a civilian, after all. But he needn't have worried. He doubted very much if there would be any questions from them about anything she did. Unless it was to ask for her autograph – which Hansen did after blushing a bright red when she shook his hand. He held out a playbill from _Troilus and Cressida_ and stammered out his request.

She looked at it closely, then up at the operative. "You saw me perform in Athens at the end of April?"

"Yes," he said gustily. "I'd been worried when they said that Margola had sprained her ankle. I thought maybe they'd cancel the rest of the performances. But they didn't, and I got to see you play Cressida. You were really great!"

Chandra marveled at the ironies of time; that this man had gone to see her perform, never knowing that she would be the one to gently dispose of his body mere months later. She swallowed a lump in her throat and asked for a pen.

Straker was surprised. He knew that Chandra did not sign autographs. In that respect they were alike, although her reasons were more along the lines of not wanting anyone to be able to pin her performance dates down. He wondered why she was breaking her own rule now?

Major Kelly was likewise starstruck and seemed to be unable to form a coherent sentence for the first half hour they were there. Apparently he had seen her once in a Shakespearean play when he was younger and had never forgotten the experience. Straker could sympathize with him. Really he could. But surely they had more important things to discuss at the moment than theatre?

Rocheski was made of sterner stuff and took over for his team leader, showing them the few components they had labeled – and the many that still awaited a determination of their purpose. Chandra listened politely, but her husband could tell that her thoughts were elsewhere and not on the Thoelian device. She examined the pieces they showed her, and even commented on a few of them, but she seemed much more interested in hearing about Rocheski's family. Even going so far as to ask if he had a picture of his wife and two daughters. Naturally he did, and the subject of alien devices was effectively shelved for some time after that.

Straker knew there was definitely something going on with his wife. And it made him wonder more than ever what had happened to her after the facility blew up. He had assumed that she had instantly jumped back in time after he apparently died, so that she could alert him and keep the explosion from happening. But from the way she was behaving around these men she had never met before, he had to assume that something more had taken place. Something that had given her a connection to them that had affected her deeply. He wondered if she would ever tell him?

But as he watched as she interacted with the team, he began to consider the many possible scenarios of what might have occurred and decided that it might be better all around if he never knew. His blood ran cold at the mere thought of the aliens anywhere near her. He had enough nightmares to deal with where she was concerned; nightmares where she was abruptly taken away from him and never seen again. He didn't need more. Especially a nightmare that had actually happened.

When they finally came to an end of their visit, Straker set up another one for the next day. Maybe by then his research team would be over their fascination with his wife and would actually discuss theories about the components they had assembled. And maybe by then his wife would be past her preoccupation with certain team members and be ready to offer some possible theories of her own. He could only hope.

Chandra shook hands once more with each of the team members and thanked them for their work. But as Straker took her arm to lead her out of the lab, she turned to the major and asked if he knew where Dan Dundee was?

Kelly was surprised. "Yes, ma'am. Reva. Mrs. Straker. He's in the generator room."

"Thank you," she said, then turned to her husband. "Ed, I'll be right out. I need to talk to Mr. Dundee first, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all," he said blandly. He watched her walk away down the hall before glancing back at the major. "What does Dundee do here, Kelly? Is he a member of your team as well?" Straker didn't remember the name, but then he could hardly be expected to know all the names of the SHADO operatives who worked in R & D around the globe.

"No, sir," Major Kelly told him, looking a little perplexed. "He's the janitor."

***

"It's good to see you back where you belong, Ed."

Straker grinned at his friend as Freeman sat in front of the desk, nursing his drink. "I didn't think I was gone all that long, Alec."

"Maybe not. But it was the longest couple of days I've ever spent, so don't repeat it soon, okay?"

"I was never in any danger, you know. Paul took all the risks."

Alec shook his head. "It doesn't change a thing. And who's to say they wouldn't try again when the first attempt failed?"

The commander shook his head. "They're not omniscient. We can only be grateful they were banking on only needing the one UFO."

"According to Chandra," Alec brooded. "They did only need the one." He would not soon forget the look on her face after she rejoined with the other Chandra. Whatever hell she'd endured after Ed died had left its mark – even on the Chandra who had not been there.

"Hmmm," was all the commander would say.

"So, Ed. Were you able to decipher any of the components of that device?"

Straker nodded, the thrill of discovery lighting his eyes. "Yes, Alec. We found out quite a bit about their technology from that device. Kelly and his men set up several experiments for us, and we were able to get quite a bit of information from most of the components that they had. We spent the final afternoon dividing up the pieces into different research specializations, so we could ship them off to R & D facilities all over the world."

"Good idea. It's never smart to keep all your eggs in one basket."

"Exactly. And this way we'll have the combined concentration of all of SHADO's research staff globally working on ways to utilize their technology. I expect great things to come out of R & D this next year."

Alec was quiet for a while, staring into his drink. So his friend went back to writing his report, knowing the colonel would eventually say what was on his mind. But he had written the last line and signed his name to the paper, and Alec still had said nothing more. Straker was curious. What was bothering his friend?

"What is it, Alec?" he asked quietly as he slid the report into its folder.

The colonel blinked, coming out of his thoughts and focusing on his commander once more. "I was thinking about how we'd have handled it, Ed."

"Handled what?"

Freeman looked almost irritated that Straker didn't understand. "You dying, of course."

"Oh. That."

"Yeah. _That_." The colonel finished the rest of his drink in a gulp and said, "You know I would never have accepted command. But the next person in line is Ginny, who Henderson would never consider in a million years."

Straker sighed. "True. He's always been a little behind the times, hasn't he?"

Alec grunted his agreement, then continued. "So that would leave Paul."

He said no more, but the look the two men exchanged spoke volumes.

Finally Straker sat back in his chair and toyed with his pen. "Yes, Alec. I see the problem."

"It's like with the device, Ed," he explained. "Putting all our eggs in one basket, so to speak, by having everything at SHADO under only your hand. What if you were suddenly gone, like with this incident that almost happened in Sydney? What would we do? How would we carry on?"

"What do you suggest?" the commander asked after a moment.

Alec sighed. "I don't know, Ed. But if Chandra hadn't been here to do what she did to reverse things, I'd be in one hell of a mess right now. And I don't like the sound of that at all. We need some failsafes in place, so that if it ever does come down to losing you, we won't lose the damn war as well."

"Hmmm." Straker thought for a while, unconsciously biting the tip of his pen as he considered options. "Alright," he said finally. "We need to divide things up, just like the components of the device. Which was a good analogy, by the way, Alec. Start thinking about globalizing the command structure; so that if one piece falls, the others can take up the slack and go on. I'll put together a command chart, complete with plenty of redundancy, so that there is no one figurehead who handles all the important decisions. But it will be divided according to each individual command member, capitalizing on their strengths. Then, between us, we can refine it and make it workable with the staff we have. What do you think?"

Freeman grinned, enormously relieved. "It sounds great, Ed. Thanks."

"Don't thank me just yet, Alec," his friend replied. "Guess who's going to be the one doing most of the training for this command staff?"

Freeman's grin widened. "I don't mind. It sounds a lot better than the other scenario."

"What other scenario?" Straker asked, his mind already analyzing how to make it work.

"The one that kept me up all last night," the colonel said drily.

The commander met his eyes, then gave a deep sigh. "You too, huh?"

***

Straker was deep into numbers and dollar signs when his wife entered his office later. He was determined to shuffle enough funds around, so that the research teams globally could have a chance to crack some of the intricacies of the Thoelian components. And research required _lots _of money. So the smile he gave her was a rather absent one, before he bent his head to his financial budget once more.

Chandra lifted a brow at this sign of preoccupation and simply came around his desk to lay her hands on his shoulders. She began kneading the tension out of his muscles, slowly working her way in toward his neck, where she knew the worst of it always lay. It didn't take more than a minute or two before his pen dropped onto the desk, and he leaned back to give her better access to his knotted muscles.

After a long time, he sighed deeply and turned in his chair to kiss her, drawing her down onto his lap. "Thanks," he said softly. "What did I do to deserve that, I wonder?"

She grinned at him, giving him a quick kiss. "Just for being you," she said.

"Oh. Well, then," he said and drew her close, so that he could bury his face in her hair. He held her for a long time, enjoying her presence. Then he loosened his arms, so that he could look in her eyes. Her violet eyes were alight with love, his favorite expression of hers. "I love you," he murmured quietly.

"I love you too," she said, and delicately brushed the hair away from his brow.

"So, is it time to head home?" he asked her. He found it easy to lose track of time in HQ, because there was no contact with the outdoors to tell him the time of day.

"No," she said, a sly smile spreading across her face. "I just wanted to see you."

"Oh. Any particular reason?"

"Yeah."

He waited for her to elaborate, but she didn't. Only her smile grew, and her eyes began to twinkle. His own lips quirked as he said, "You want me to guess?"

She shook her head. "I want to tell you. I just have to figure out how to say it."

"Okay." He would have been worried, but it was obvious that it was good news. Whatever it was. Maybe . . . ?

"I'm pregnant!" she blurted out.

"Chandra!" he said, his face lighting up. "Darling!" And he kissed her deeply.

She was lightheaded when he released her, and he loved the dazzled look in her eyes. His _second_ favorite expression of hers. "I think it's time to go home now," he told her firmly.

"It is?" she asked, looking around for a clock.

"Yes," he assured her. "We need to celebrate."

"Oh." She grinned, reading his thoughts perfectly. "I'm all for that."

***

They left his office hand in hand, only Lt. Ford seeing them go. And he was too busy coordinating the refueling of Skydiver 4 to do more than grin to himself and hope that they enjoyed playing truant. It was barely noon, after all. But what else could you expect from newlyweds?


End file.
